Hey I bought my zj 10 months ago and haven't really had a chance to try it out off road, so I was wondering how capable are stock zj's offroad. I can't really afford many upgrades seeing how i'm spending 35000 a year on school. I need new tires so I was planning on getting Cooper Discoverer ATR's http://www.mavistire.com/ProductCart...?id=8223&frb=B
Anyone have any experience with them?
I'm also planning on picking up a set of tow hooks.
and the last thing is does my zj come stock with skids(I don't have my jeep with me at school to take a look) or were they just an option its a 98 ZJ limited.

If you are going to be offroading much, get an extreme A/T (such as the BFG AT or general grabber AT2, etc). If your ZJ had the up country package, it has the skids. Otherwise they were optional. Email jeep about getting a build sheet and see if it's on the list.

Check out the Goodyear Wrangler Authority tires at Walmart. They are classified as a AT, but they are a borderline MT. They look great and are priced pretty decent. I just hate that they don't come in bigger sizes. The biggest tire is MAYBE a 32, I'm not quite sure. I bet they will have a size you are looking for.

I wish I had skids, but with that said I've gone everywhere I've ever wanted to in my stock ZJ and love it. Tires are very important. Next, get those skids. I will be getting some, they're next on my list of mods. I'm still paying off the brakes though...

Welcome to the Jeepin' world. It can be tons of fun. Just be careful. Wheeling is a dangerous sport. So don't take it lightly. Any time you're behind the wheel, it's serious.

A stock ZJ is very capable. Just last weekend I went wheeling with 3 XJs all with at least 3" of lift and 31" tires. The trail wasn't that challenging, but was far from easy. My point is, I went everywhere those XJs did and all of them thought I would get stuck for sure and I didn't. If you want to off road any learn on some not-so-challenging trails first and learn proper approach angles and just how to drive on them correctly. A ZJ is only as good as the driver. And as mentioned previously, tires play a significant role in the off road capability of your ZJ.

A lot of guys tend to swap out the 249 TC (quadra-trac) for the 242 (selec-trac) because the viscous coupler is known to go bad.

thanks for all the info. As much as I would love to go offroading all the time the jeeps probably gunna be on road 90% of the time. Do you guys know what the biggest tire I can get and not have it rub?

Check out the Goodyear Wrangler Authority tires at Walmart. They are classified as a AT, but they are a borderline MT. They look great and are priced pretty decent. I just hate that they don't come in bigger sizes. The biggest tire is MAYBE a 32, I'm not quite sure. I bet they will have a size you are looking for.

hello fellow ZJ owner - The ZJ is very capable of goin places stock....i got a 95 ZJ stock(for now) that went through **** that was almost to the bottom of my window...the floor of the mud hole was kinda angled

I'm going to continue the info in this thread since it's still being found on google. As far as tire size goes it's complicated. You cannot fit a 31 on a straight stock ZJ however you can sort of fit them on the up country version. That is the package to look for because it has a one inch lift and all the skids. You'll still rub the control arms are full lock but you'll want a 2 inch bb spacer because it gets worse off road when you articulate.

Most people consider a 3 inch bb to be dangerous even though some manufacturer sell their 3 inch bb's with extra parts to counteract that. Even so at a 3 inch lift you are going to have to start adjusting your steering geometry and changing shocks, wit ha 2 inch you do nothing.

A one speed transfer case in 98? From what I understand that is a rare snow only type of 4x4 sold with the 4.0. It's not the 249 which is a two speed tcase with full time 4x4 and 4x4 lo. According to the Haynes manual the NV147 was introduced in 2004 (so not a ZJ and is the only one speed Tcase I can find). If you are one of the rare 4.0s with a second gen NP249 don't worry. That case produces probably the best full time 4x4 of all time and the VC only goes bad about every 150,000 miles.

My up country ZJ with skids and and 235's could go pretty much anywhere and did amazingly in nasty weather. I squeezed on 31's (Goodyear Wrangler Authority are awesome) and now it will out do a lot more than you would think. ZJ's are pretty small and nimble, they accept upgrades well, and they are well balanced. I've been amazed by my ZJ.

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Every mountain is unclimbable until it is climbed, every ship unsinkable until it is sunk.

x34234234 on getting some good tires. personally i hate goodyear tires with a burning passion (my dad bought a set back when he had his grand prix, out of round from the factory. so far out of round that the tire balancer said we needed like 13 ounces in 1 spot. moms patriot had goodyears from the factory, completely wiped out in 15xxx miles.)